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Growing Colorful Bell PeppersAll baby peppers start out green, then change color as they mature. In fact, whenyoure growing bell peppers, some stay green until they mature to yellow or red,while others may turn white, lilac or purple before maturing to red, yellow or orange.

You can eat peppers at whatever stage you prefer, but fully ripe peppers taste betterand are more nutritious. Sugars and other flavor compounds accumulate during thefinal stages of ripening, and vitamin C content often doubles. The color change inripening peppers is caused by the breakdown of chlorophyll, which coincides withthe maturation of the seeds.

For example, Sweet Banana peppers are a pale, yellowish-green when the fruits areimmature, then they slowly change to yellow, then orange and finally red.

For early yields of colorful sweet peppers, its best to choose varieties that waste no time changing to their fully ripecolor and flavor. Varieties that mature to red far outnumber those that mature to orange or yellow. The best fast-ripening red peppers to grow are Gypsy, Lipstick and Ace.

At the end of the season, peppers picked when they have just begun to change colors will continue to ripen indoors

when kept in a warm place.

What to Grow

Most of the hot and sweet peppers grown in the United States belong to the species Capsicum annuum, with thesweet or bell peppers classed in the Grossum Group and the principal condiment peppers (cayenne, chili andpaprika) belonging to the Longum Group. Though many sources consider hot peppers as members of C. frutescens,this species more correctly refers to the superhot Tabasco pepper, which in this country is grown only on the GulfCoast. But whatever type you grow (and there are plenty of varieties to choose from), cultivation is approximately thesame.

Among earlier maturing sweet peppers, familiar standbys are Earliest Red Sweet and Ace Hybrid, though such newerhybrids as Early Prolific and Early Thickset quickly gained acceptance. Skipper is a thick-walled type that's good forstuffing. A later-maturing pepper, also good for stuffing, is the popular Bell Boy. Tasty Hybrid is justly named, and aprolific producer, as well. And, though thin-walled, one of the best nonhybrids is mosaic-resistant Staddon's Select.(Among others resistant to this disease are Keystone, Belle and Yolo Wonder.) There's also a wide variety of giantsweet peppers, including Green Boy, Wonder Giant, Big Bertha and Big Stutter.

Ornamental peppers tend toward the blazing hot, but Dutch Treat is a mild-tasting exception. Anaheims are slightlypungent, while jalapeos sizzle on the tongue. Prolific and easy to grow are Hungarian Wax, Hot Banana andGoldspike. Cayennes, such as the Long Red Cayenne, are usually fiery, but the early-maturing Zippy Hybrid is amuch milder version. And though we think of hot peppers as being small, Numex Big Jim, though not overly spicy,has fruits as large as the sweet Big Bertha. For gardeners in the Deep South, Dr. Greenleaf Red Hot Tabasco is oneof the best (and hottest) of that type. Remember, though, that different varieties willcross-pollinate, but that won'taffect their taste the year they're planted. Therefore, if you don't save the seeds, you can plant hot and sweet peppersin the same bed.

Planting

Peppers are a warm-weather crop. Even though they're perennials in their native habitats, they're grown as half-hardy annuals elsewhere, unless kept indoors. Yields are reduced when the temperature goes below 55F. On theother hand, blossoms can drop if the thermometer reaches above 90 F. Peppers also require a long growing seasonand can be seeded directly in the ground only in the warmest climates. Most gardeners buy young plants instead ofstarting their own. However, though peppers are slightly more difficult to grow from seed than, say, tomatoes or eveneggplants, cultivating seedlings offers a gardener a wide choice of varieties.

Even under warm indoor conditions, seeds can take up to two weeks to germinate, so plant them about eight weeksbefore the last expected spring frost. Use peat pellets, vermiculite or a finely screened mixture of equal parts of sand,

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loam and compost. (An inorganic planting medium isn't as likely to harbor the fungus that causes damping off. If youuse garden soil, sterilize it first by baking it in a medium oven for at least 30 minutes.) Generally speaking, one 15-foot row of seven or eight plants, each of which can produce as many as 30 fruits, will provide enough peppers for afamily of four. A packet of hybrid seed (many of which have a germination rate of about 75%) will grow a minimum ofabout 50 plants. The seed will remain viable for two years.

Sow seeds inch deep, and keep the medium uniformly moist. Since seeds will lie dormant if cool, put the growing

container in a warm, sunny window. After the first true leaves show, prick out each plant to a three-inch pot filled witha sterilized potting soil, and transplant the seedling to a larger pot before it becomes root-bound. When the plant isabout six inches tall, pinch off the growing point to encourage bushiness.

Once the danger of frost is past, it's still best to avoid moving these half-hardy plants directly outdoors. Take a weekor two to harden them off in a cold frame, or put them outside on sunny days and bring them inside for warmth atnight. Once the weather is settled and the earth is warm (a soil temperature of 65F is ideal), choose a sunny locationprotected from the wind with well-worked, well-drained, fertile loam with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. To enrich the soil, userotted compost; avoid fresh manure, since too much nitrogen will encourage leaf growth to the detriment of the fruit.Instead, add potash in the form of granite dust, greensand, seaweed and wood ashes. If your soil is deficient inmagnesium (a lack of which can cause leaf drop, poor production and sunscald of fruit), use dolomite lime, talc orEpsom salts to provide this essential nutrient.

Make sure the garden soil is moist before setting out the young plants. (If transferred to the garden in the evening,they are less likely to wilt.) Place them 18 to 24 inches apart with three feet between rows. (In very dry climates, put

them closer together to conserve moisture.) Water as often as necessary to keep the ground uniformly damp. This isespecially important when the blossoms open and the fruit is forming, since dry soil puts the plants under stress andcan cause blossom-end rot. Don't, however, overwater. Organic mulches, such as grass clippings, help conservemoisture and keep down weeds at the same time. Be careful when weeding not to disturb the peppers' roots. As theflowers fade and the fruit begins to form, provide a dose of weak liquid fertilizer.

When growing peppers in containers, water them every day, and once flowers and fruit start to appear, apply a liquidfertilizer each week. Handpicking a few of the first flowers will encourage fruit formation.

What to Watch For

If given fertile soil and proper moisture, peppers are seldom hassled with pests or diseases. Occasionally, they're hitwith aphids, flea beetles or Colorado potato beetles, but all three can be controlled with hard hose sprays, stickytraps, garlic sprays, diatomaceous earth and wood ashes. In addition, ladybugs, lacewing flies and praying mantises

consume aphids; nearby eggplant, flax and green beans help repel Colorado potato beetles; and tansy plantedbetween rows discourages cutworms. The latter pest can also be controlled by placing cardboard collars in theground around the peppers' stems. And, of course, keeping the garden free from refuse can help reduce most insectproblems.

Among diseases, anthracnose (a fungus that causes ugly brown spots and black lesions on the fruit) can be avoidedby allowing three years to pass before again planting peppers, or other relatives of the nightshade family, in aparticular location. Mildew, bacterial spot and tobacco mosaic can be avoided by simply raising resistant varieties.

How to Harvest and Store

Peppers will be ready to harvest from late summer until the weather cools. When fruits are of sufficient size and theirflesh is firm with a smooth, even color, pick them at least once a week to encourage production. Green peppers willeventually turn a rich red or yellow, depending on the variety, and these brightly colored fruits will be somewhatsweeter than green ones. (Pimento and paprika peppers are always harvested in their dark red, ripe stage.)However, once the color changes, they'll also go soft quickly, and leaving them on the vine too long will reduce yields.These later-picked colorful peppers, however, contain more vitamin C (120 to 180 milligrams for each average-sizedfruit) than do those in the green stage. Peppers also provide 700 to 3,000 international units of vitamin A, 30 to 70milligrams of thiamin and 28 milligrams of phosphorus. All this nutrition is in a package containing around 25 calories.

When frost is predicted, harvest all the remaining fruit, andonce the last pepper is pickedpull up and compost orburn the plants to prevent future pest and disease problems. To avoid damaging the plant, use a sharp knife orpruning shears to cut off the peppers and handle them carefully, because they bruise easily.

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Sweet peppers are excellent eaten like apples. You can also, of course, slice them up in salads, stir-fries and meatloaves, or stuff them with brown rice, soybean grits or meat/vegetable/egg mixtures and bake them or simmer them ina covered casserole.

Hot peppers should be fully ripe for drying or pickling. Thin-walled varieties are easy to dry and can be ground andstored in jars. (This method is also used for paprika peppers.) To dry them, either cut the whole plant and hang it inan airy place, or string individual pods to hang in the kitchen for both ornamental and culinary use.

Peppers don't need blanching before freezing. Just chop and freeze them in jars, or core and freeze them whole forfuture stuffed dishes.

To can red sweet peppers (or even hot ones), wash and remove the seeds, fill pint jars to inch from the top, coverthe fruits with boiling water, seal, and process for 25 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.